From our other sites
The story
On September 30, Amazon released a new streaming media player, the Fire TV Stick 4K. It’s priced at ¥11,980, and during the “Prime Thanksgiving” sale from October 16–19, it’ll be available for ¥5,980 — ¥6,000 off. Announced alongside it, the Fire TV remote control is slated for release on October 22, while the higher-end Fire TV Remote Plus isn’t due until 2027. On 5ch, rather than discussing the new features, commenters first zeroed in on complaints about past models, asking whether the freezing problem had finally been fixed. Opinion was further split over the new TV-USB-port charging method — some questioned its practicality since many TVs don’t have a free USB port to spare — while others asked what the point of a dedicated device even is when you can watch the same content on a phone or tablet.
On September 30, Amazon announced new additions to the Fire TV lineup: the Fire TV Stick 4K, the Fire TV remote control, and the Fire TV Remote Plus. The Fire TV Stick 4K went on sale September 30; the Fire TV remote control is scheduled for release on October 22 (pre-orders starting September 30); and the Fire TV Remote Plus is planned for release in 2027.
Fire TV Stick 4K
The Fire TV Stick 4K is a slim, portable, 4K-capable streaming media player in stick form. It’s priced at ¥11,980. During the Prime Thanksgiving sale running October 16–19, it will be sold for ¥5,980 — ¥6,000 off.
Source: pc.watch.impress.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Freezing has never been an issue for me — I'm on my third one and I've been using these for about 7 years.
Why would it even freeze?
Have you checked how much storage you're actually using?
Probably installing apps nonstop with no memory left.
Freezing happens maybe once every six months? And that's only if you're on external power and never turn it off.
Fixing it is as simple as power-cycling once.
Since this one draws power from the TV, if it regularly loses power that way, the problem might just take care of itself.
Forget all that, just buying a new one is easier.
Amazon Prime Video?
Seriously, you should try catching up with the times a little.
'What kind of conversations can you even have on 5ch?' — sounds exactly like something someone who's never touched 5ch would say.
So what would you say back to that?
And that's not even counting your voice data, if you're not careful.
Then again, if it's just internet you want, you don't even need a TV — any monitor with HDMI will do.
But hotels and phones support casting these days anyway, so there's no real need to carry one of these around.
If you just want internet, your phone's fine.
Feels worse than sticking with a flip phone.
I barely touch my Fire TV, maybe once every six months.
And every single time I try to use it, the remote fails to pair — 100% of the time.
At this point I just unplug it and reset it before I even try.
Is this article just written to confuse clueless old folks into parting with their money?
Impress [the publisher] has really gone downhill.
Now just swap the Netflix button for an ABEMA one. (ABEMA is a major Japanese streaming service)
That really comes down to personal taste.
For me, Prime Video, Netflix, and ABEMA all work, but if I had to pick a must-have, it'd be Netflix.
Most TVs don't have a spare USB port lying around.
Whoever wrote 'no power adapter needed' like it's some big win must be an idiot.
Does anyone actually use Amazon devices day to day?
The Echo Show has garbage sound quality and is basically a bugging device — totally useless.
A Netflix button is just in the way.
Especially for people who can't make it to the venue in person.
It's specifically YouTube that freezes on a regular basis.
Apparently that happens pretty often, from what people say.
My family uses other apps on it too, but I'm YouTube-only.
Zero freezing for me. None at all.
I got handed an Amazon tablet someone wasn't using and tried to set it up — totally unusable. Google's own apps don't work on it. You have to start by unofficially sideloading the Google Play Store just to get anywhere. And even if it works on that version, there's no guarantee it survives the next update. The whole network-based ecosystem feels half-assed, worse than the hardware itself. Garbage in an instant. Get an Android tablet instead.
If you want cheap, the Xiaomi Redmi Pad 2 is the best option, quality included.
If you only ever use Amazon services, maybe it's fine, but that's about the extent of it. Apparently there's decent demand for these among kids in English-speaking markets, but kids' tablets live and die by content, and the Japanese-language content just isn't there.
Do you actually look up the specs before you use these things?
If you don't have a PC at home, the Pro works too.
I watch comfortably now on a tablet with an ad blocker installed.
If you're going to buy this, wouldn't you be better off just getting an Android TV and running an ad blocker on that?
Terrestrial broadcasts can be watched on TVer these days anyway.
4K programming from the five BS commercial broadcasters now streaming free on WOWOW On Demand. A-PAB press conference: "A new era for BS 4K is about to begin."
https://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/2144955.html
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
Previously, the Fire TV Stick had to be powered via an AC adapter or USB cable, and the hassle of setting it up had been a recurring complaint. The new model switches to drawing power from the TV’s own USB port, touting adapter-free setup as a selling point — but since TV USB ports are often already occupied by things like recording HDDs, several commenters questioned how practical this really is. There’s also a history of the Fire TV Stick freezing during YouTube playback on past models, and the fact that commenters asked “did they fix the freezing?” before even discussing the new features speaks to just how much frustration existing users have built up. At the same time, with smartphones and tablets now able to stream the same services, some questioned what the point of a dedicated streaming device even is anymore, reopening debate over where the Fire TV Stick actually fits. Related news that came up in the same breath included the fact that Amazon hasn’t released a new Fire tablet model in some time, and the start of free 4K streaming on WOWOW On Demand.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary from the 5ch (Business News+) thread “[Product] Faster ‘Fire TV Stick 4K’ debuts, powered via the TV.”
Leave a Reply